steve775

When a high-end car like a Porsche, or Ferrari etc... gets in an accident, and the car is relatively new, the diminished value is the worst part.

I think the technology and skills of some of the better collision specialists can return the car to a state as good or even better than when first bought.

The problem is if you were to sell the car, the mere fact that the car was in a accident could possibly diminish the car's value 25 to 50% (a guess). You the buyer are told of the accident, or you look it up with CarFax, and you may be able to use that as leverage to ask that the price be reduced by the above percent if it has not already, or the seller may already mark the car down some additional amount besides for the mileage and wear and tear to account for it being in an accident.

This I guess is the risk involved in owning a high-end car. Which insurance company takes this into account, any? I guess it's tough luck that the image of the car in an accident lowers the value -- even if the best collision specialist fixed it perfectly.

If selling the car and it was fixed perfectly, then the seller should be upfront, tell the buyer that yes the car was in an accident, and in the best way, prove that the car was in excellent hands and that the car is as good as a car not in an accident with the same mileage.

DougNY

Mine is done on agreed value of the car (not book value) at the beginning of each year of the term. For this one, we agreed on sticker plus tax. Since I paid a bit less than sticker, if it is an accident then total her and I'll take my small profit and buy a new one.

boolala

How does a leased vehicle differ here? I've never leased a car so I don't know what the small print stipulates. Does the lessor assume this risk?

PDQ PDK CAYMAN S

I also have agreed value, but that only works if the car is totaled or stolen. Chubb writes this insurance along with other benefits over others at about 5% more cost. I think it is worth it.

DougNY

Worth every penny. If you lease you would have to cover the difference of depreciated value (from the moment you drive out of the dealer) and the total cumulative lease payments to the bank for the unpaid portion.

vtach88

How do you determine an agreed value? This is a new concept for me. I'll look into it.

Speed

Agreed upon value is quite common with the companies that specialize in insuring vintage cars. I've got agreed upon value coverage for my 356 and Dino. The agreed upon value is generally tied to purchase price and values as reported in various guides. The companies have a sense of what a reasonable value is for a particular car. If you just bought your 997 for $90K or so, you're not going to be able to insure it for $150k unless you can somehow show there is something special that you have that justifies that value.

The_Phantom

Here's a story about a 911 owner that got a check for $32k from his insurance company for the diminished value of his car due to an accident. Most policies have an exclusion for diminished value and this won't work for everyone, but it's interesting reading:

http://www.autoclaimshelp.net/BSB_magazine_story.htm

tooner

Scary Reading...

vtach88

Tooner: if you don't mind, what did you do? I have state farm and they don't have an "agreed value" clause for california. I'm going to call around to see if others do.
PM me if you prefer!